$50,000 in credit card debt, Options?

I have a friend who is in $50,000 credit card debt and she is very stressed over it. I'm concerned for her health, so I'm asking on her behalf.

She has several credit cards totaling $50k and the minimum repayments are between $1000 and $1500 per month (closer to $1500) which she is struggling to pay and still relies on the credit cards for every day costs. Because most of money she pays off only covers interest this is a never ending issue.

She approached a consultant who offered to get this to closer to $1000/mth with the whole amount being paid off in a few years (4 or 5 I think it was). This would involve cutting up all the cards. For this sum of money per month she is reluctant to commit to that.

About a year ago she was negotiating replacing the credit card debt with a loan secured against her house (which she's still paying off also) but that deal fell through. Maybe just as well because I read on an advice site that a secured loan is not the best way to solve this.

What a bummer... that is a chunk of change. I am part relieved b/c I am glad i am not the only one with excessive debt!

Mine is because my daughter and i live on our credit cards and use what little cash we have to pay our mortgage. In fact I have started a legal defense fund b/c I am being taken to court by my daughters father. Which is estimated to cost me an extra $20k that i simply do not have.

I started a blog, asking the public, hopefully other single moms, for help.

tanbijou.blogspot dot com

I want to http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/avoid-bankruptcy.html avoid bankruptcy too. I have been told it may be my best option. Apparently there are a lot of people who do it. and it is even more common these days. but the rules are more tricky. Good luck to your friend. She is lucky to have someone looking out for her!

Thanks for your replies. Appreciated. If anyone has any more info please share!

She doesnt have any compulsive habits. She uses the CC for household necessities once she's finished paying her monthly minimum repayments, mortgage and bills. She mainly got into the situation while going through a very rough divorce.

So the solution I'm hoping for is lower monthly repayments. If instead of $1200+/mth over 4 years there was a solution for closer to $600/mth over 7/8 years I think the CC dependency could be fixed.

It sure beats being stuck in the current situation and paying double over a similar period (or probably longer) through all the compound interest nonsense.

She's actually paying more than that now, but to get it down to $1200/mth she'd have to cut up the cards. Not viable.

I've never been in debt myself so this is all new to me. It pains me to see someone being continuously stressed over this with no real solution in sight. I can't see how $50,000 can ruin someone's life for so many years. And all the "solutions" are consolidation companies who add a chunk of debt on top with large upfront fees for their "solutions".

There has to be real legal solutions or companies who are there to genuinely help instead of benefit off other people's misfortunes?

I have a friend who is in $50,000 credit card debt and she is very stressed over it. I'm concerned for her health, so I'm asking on her behalf.

She has several credit cards totaling $50k and the minimum repayments are between $1000 and $1500 per month (closer to $1500) which she is struggling to pay and still relies on the credit cards for every day costs. Because most of money she pays off only covers interest this is a never ending issue.

She approached a consultant who offered to get this to closer to $1000/mth with the whole amount being paid off in a few years (4 or 5 I think it was). This would involve cutting up all the cards. For this sum of money per month she is reluctant to commit to that.

About a year ago she was negotiating replacing the credit card debt with a loan secured against her house (which she's still paying off also) but that deal fell through. Maybe just as well because I read on an advice site that a secured loan is not the best way to solve this.

What is it with this forum anyway. In all my years of using forums I've never come across such a screwed up system. Half the messages I seen have vanished incuding a private one, and my reply I just posted I can't see either.

Looks like it's using phpBB. I've installed this a couple of times myself and never had all these querks. What's with this?!

well, it sounds like she considered some type of consolidation company. wich is in her best interest. Considering she does not want to close the accounts, im not sure she has many options other than paying them. Most of the options make you close the accounts except for a consolidation loan through the bank (ie home equity) but then see the problem with this is most people fall back into the debt trap were they will continue thier old habits of charging. and now they are paying the home equity and the cards its a easy quick fix that most people dont learn from. here are her choices, but the home eq is the only one she will be able to keep her accounts open.
home loan through the bank
consolidation
settlement
bankruptcy

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